"Black & Blue" | ||||
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Single by Miike Snow | ||||
from the album Miike Snow | ||||
Released | 15 October 2009 | |||
Format | ||||
Recorded | Robotberget () | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:41 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Miike Snow | |||
Miike Snow singles chronology | ||||
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"Black & Blue" is a song performed by Swedish indie pop band Miike Snow. It was released as the second single from the band's 2009 self-titled debut album on 15 October 2009 through Columbia Records. The song was written by the band alongside Henrik Jonback and Juliet Richardson. Band members Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg of production duo Bloodshy & Avant had conceptualized the chorus prior to forming the band with Andrew Wyatt in 2007, but saved the idea for the Miike Snow project rather than offering it to another artist. "Black & Blue" is a blue-eyed soul and electronica song that is sung in a breathy falsetto style with piano and synthesizer instrumentation.
Critics were generally positive towards "Black & Blue". The majority of them praised the piano elements and Wyatt's vocals. The single is among the band's most successful releases; it peaked at number 64 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 10 on the UK Dance Chart and the Flemish Ultratip chart. Vince Haycock directed its accompanying music video, in which actor Jeff Stewart portrays a man who creates music with eccentric instruments in his apartment.
"Black & Blue" was written by Miike Snow's three members, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg and Andrew Wyatt, in collaboration with Henrik Jonback and Juliet Richardson. Parts of the chorus were initially conceptualized by Karlsson and Winnberg, also known as Bloodshy & Avant, prior to forming the band in 2007. Karlsson told music website musicOMH, "It's the only song on the album that we had an idea before and we kind of saved [it], like we want this song for our own project. When we met Andrew [Wyatt] and we decided to start the band, it was only an idea, but we played it for Andrew and he really liked it." It was recorded at Robotberget, the band's own studio in , Sweden. The band produced the track and then mixed it with Anders Hvenare.Columbia Records released "Black & Blue" as the album's second single on 15 October 2009 in Europe. The digital release includes the original version and remixes by Caspa, Jaymo & Andy George, Netsky, Savage Skulls and Tiga. In the United Kingdom, the iTunes Store version comes with the original track, remixes by Tiga and Caspa, and Mark Ronson's remix of the album's first single, "Animal". A 12" vinyl was released in the United Kingdom on 19 October 2009, featuring the aforementioned "Black & Blue" remixes, excluding Netsky's.